Guns For Hire: Secrecy, Torture, Religious Zeal Distinguish Mercenaries

[babylonsister]

Guns For Hire: Secrecy, Torture, Religious Zeal Distinguish Mercenaries
Submitted by danielifearn on Sat, 2007-08-18 18:29. General Discussion

By Paul J. Nyden
The West Virginia Gazette
Sunday 12 August 2007

Iraq and Afghanistan dominated our news headlines. But our media continue to overlook the growing privatization of military operations - a major historical development.

George W. Bush vigorously backs privatization and frequently awards huge contracts to companies owned by political contributors, such as Halliburton and Blackwater.

During his years in the Oval Office, Bill Clinton also embraced the emerging military privatization.

Today, our government pays mercenaries billions of dollars to fight and kill "enemies," protect government officials and deliver food.

American taxpayers pay the bill. But few know much about the growth of private military companies, or PMCs.

Two new books - Jeremy Scahill's Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army and Robert Young Pelton's Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror - tell that story.

Hundreds of companies, most formed recently, rake in billions of dollars to provide mercenaries for operations, often top-secret, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, to name a few.

"Private forces are almost a necessity for a United States bent on retaining its declining empire," Scahill writes. "Think about Rome and its increasing need for mercenaries."

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http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/25943

[yella_dawg]

1. ..

[Solly Mack]

2. ...

K/R

[Karenina]

3. ...

[SpiralHawk]

4. They are a Praetorian Guard -- and will be set upon the USA some day

The republicon Christo-fascist Homelanders are just jukking up the MERCENARY MACHINE here and abroad so that they can be set upon the citizens of the USA to enforce the Ugly Anti-American Homeland Totalitarian State they want.

The handwriting is on the wall.

[OneBlueSky]

5. this may well be the most dangerous trend of all these days . . .

it's time for Congress to stand up and ban mercenary armies, period . . . chances of them doing that? . . . zero and none . . .

[Disturbed]

6. Amerika is one Terrorist Attack away from Martial Law.

It will be Black Water SS that will keep the masses down.